1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bicycles, and more particularly to the mounting of front wheel quickrelease hubs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is customary to mount the front wheel, hub and axle assembly in open-ended slots in the lower ends of the legs of the front fork of a bicycle, with the axle being held in the slots by retaining nuts threadedly mounted on the outer ends of the axle and lock washers, and quick-release means have been incorporated therein including adjustable retainer members movable relative to and longitudinally of the axle for clampingly retaining the axle in the fork slots. Because accidents have occurred when such retaining nuts or retainer members have become loose enabling separation of the front wheel from the fork, attempts have been made to provide additional retainer means for preventing such accidental separation. One that is applicable to quick-release hubs is disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,807,761 which incorporates a pair of clips pivotally mounted on the lower ends of the fork legs manually swingable between inoperative position and an operative position in which they block the open-ended slots. But all known attempts have proven to be commercially impractical and expensive to incorporate in a quick-release hub. For example, that last noted requires a special end piece for the front fork legs on which the clips are mounted and separate friction mounting means for retaining the clips in selected operative or inoperative positions.